Spring is upon us

... well, almost.

 

 

 Hi Everyone. Hope you are all well.

 

Not much has happened here, over the winter. The uneventful grey and rainy days have all merged together into one long squishy and squelchy dog walk (and the cozy glow of evening fires). Still, I guess, at least, we are all fit puppies now. Slipping and sliding in the mud, trying to get some traction, would probably get to some people after a while. But, the boys seem to love it. I guess they don't overheat. And I find it's strangely life affirming. It's a tiny little percentage of a taste of what the people had to endure at places like Passchendaele and the Somme, one hundred years ago. Not to mention Trench Foot. Much as I enjoy lolling around in my shorts, with bare feet, on summer meadows; winter by the river has a lot to say for itself too.

 

Olly ~ 11 months

On a happier note, I'm glad to report that the boat is still floating and we didn't develop any window leaks. The village of Bourne End has been kind to us again. We've been reassured that there is a mooring for us here as long as we need it. And Sheena has been keeping her skills (and sanity) in, by volunteering at one of the local charity shops. It's been nice for us to be able to live together again, after all the illness related separation we had to go through in our previous boating years.

 

Though, sadly, with the chaps daily wants and needs, there hasn't been a great deal of time for me to get any serious reading done. A lamentable situation, which I hope to remedy with the forthcoming longer hours of summer daylight. It's nice that the sun wants to stay out until 5.30pm now. Hopefully, it will warm up soon too, so I can get this year's engine and paint/scraping/filling jobs done.  Too much of  wimp to be out there in overalls, unless I absolutely have to.

 

Bryn ~ Doing 'the stare'.

The picture quality of my phone camera has noticeably degraded, since I had to perform open heart surgery and jump start it. Sheena's been taking some excellent pictures with hers. So, hopefully image quality on the blog will improve. Maybe even a kingfisher, if we are lucky.

 

One year on, and we still miss Sumo very much. The thump of the tail, and the shine in his eyes, when he noticed that we were awake. It's comforting to have his ashes here on the boat. Still travelling with us. And a reminder that one day, we will end up like that too. So.... the most is being squeezed out of every possible moment of every single day. Which I think is a positive thing.

 

Sumo on Thames

Though some of them appear to be remarkable similar, each day spent by the river is indeed different.